Heading to Portland

Well, after almost a month of applying for new jobs in the Wenatchee area I am getting ready to stop the job seeking process and begin working again. It's interesting because everyone keeps talking about the current state of this economy... everyone is laid off, everyone is looking for a job, there are no jobs to be had.... that is simply not true. A lot of people have lost their jobs that is true and I am one of them. I was laid off in January of '09 along with 6 others from the church that I worked at. As a church employee in the great anti-church state of Washington I do not qualify for any un-employment benefits, or continues medical coverage via COBRA, though my church did offer to let us continue our medical benefits at the cost of $750 per month for my family.... but that almost feels like a cruel joke right? Don't you think that if I was employed to the point where I could afford an additional $750 a month that there might be a insurance option through that employment?

Anyway, this is not about complaining.... it's about making some observations and updating those who care on where my family and I are at. So back to the job search. I have had 5 interviews in 3 weeks. 2 with Starbucks who offered me a job, albeit a part time job, which can provide health insurance with 20 hours a week. They offered me 15 hours a week, but I think it would not be too hard to pick up the additional 5 through offering to work friday and saturday nights for the high school students, or open for someone at 4 am once a week so that they can sleep in. I also have had 2 interviews with Pac-Sun... (yes the clothing store for skater kids) they are looking for an assistant manager but it's also a part time (15-20 hours) position. My plan was to balance these two jobs, to pick up extra shifts at Starbucks and make due as best as we can as a family. Both of these jobs are of the $9ish per hour variety, which is going to make things difficult for us.

Tuesday I had another interview, this one was for a company called Combined Insurance. They sell supplemental insurance policies. The easiest way for me to simply explain what it is would be to tell you it's similar to AFLAC, but they don't like that being their description since they were doing it first, and AFLAC is their main competition. They interviewed me, and then they asked me to job shadow an agent for a day. That day was yesterday, and that agent was working in Yakima.

I woke up at 5:30am and drove in the snow 2 hours to Yakima. I spent 7 hours in the field observing what it looks like to be a Combined insurance agent. It's a fascinating job that intrigues me. It's sales, it's 100% commission based, and it seems to be something that would be very hard, but also would be rewarding and fun. I like the product, and I like the style of work that is self driven, people focused, and based on building and maintaining relationships. I have a phone call today to go over some final details of the job, but it looks like they are going to offer me the position. I'm excited about it, and if I am successful it has the potential to provide for us much better than the two part time hourly jobs. I am still going to try and maintain the starbucks gig on the side for 6 months at least, because after 6 months the Combined job provides insurance as well.

So what's the big deal? here's the kicker, i have to be licensed and bonded as a Washington State insurance agent before I can begin. This is a requirement by the state, and is going to be unpaid for three weeks. While they will not be paying me for the training, Combined is going to fly me to Portland, put me up in a hotel for the 3 weeks, and give me a stipend for food. It's a significant investment on their part, but it's also going to be a significant sacrifice on our part. it means in a town where we know virtually no one yet, leaving my family for 3 weeks, not working for an additional 3 weeks, delaying my Starbucks training (scheduled to start on the 16th of Feb) until after i get back from my insurance training (scheduled to start on the 17th of Feb). It's a huge struggle and we have been praying about it and talking it over and it seems like it's a sacrifice worth making though. 

So if all goes well and I can get all my documents in order i will be on a plane Monday afternoon to Portland for 3 weeks to be trained as an insurance agent.

I will have to turn down the Pac Sun position, which they called and offered me this morning as well. I haven't made that final decision yet, but here I am having to choose between employment opportunities. Having worked for so long in the non-profit Church environment it is a difficult and challenging transition to be looking for employment in the for-profit business sector. I am excited, I am nervous, I am anxious, I also have a measure of peace and confidence. I will post regular updates from training as I go along over the next 3 weeks, and then when I finish school on March 9th (my anniversary BTW) I will be able to assist everyone with their insurance needs :)

Stay tuned....